In
a career spanning over sixty years, Jones made more than 300
animated films, winning three Oscars as director and in 1996 an
honorary Oscar for Lifetime Achievement. Among the many awards and
recognitions, one of those most valued was the honorary life
membership from the Directors Guild of America.

Chuck Jones : The Dream That Never Was

Edited by Kurtis Findlay and
Dean Mullaney. Designed by Lorraine Turner.

We all harbor a secret wish that we could find a previously
unseesn project by one of the greatest figures in animation
history.

Well, wish no more—celebrating the 2012 centennial of
Chuck Jones's birth, we unveil Chuck Jones: The Dream That
Never Was.

Chuck Jones: The Dream That Never Was follows the
twenty-seven year journey it took Jones to bring "Crawford" to the
public, from conception to storyboard to newspaper strip. This
incredible volume is loaded with never before seen sketches,
drawings, storyboards and production notes, and the six-month run
of the Crawford newspaper comic strip from 1978. Accompanying the
artwork is a biography of Chuck Jones's career in the sixties and
seventies and how it influenced the creation of Chuck's only foray
into the world of comic strips.

Produced with the full coöperation of the Chuck Jones
family, the book was conceived by Kurtis Findlay, who says, "My
first surprise when I started researching the Crawford comic strip
was how little people knew about it. My second surprise was the
treasure trove of Chuck Jones art we would find. Crawford just kept
popping up in places I didn't expect, making the history of this
little-known character incredibly rich."

Chuck Jones: The Dream That Never Was is a dream come
true in that almost all the art is being reproduced from Chuck
Jones's originals! It is a gold mine of previously unknown artwork
that is a must for all fans of animation and comics.

Born on September 21, 1912 in Spokane,
Washington, Chuck Jones grew up in Hollywood where he observed the
talents of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton and worked
occasionally as a child extra in Mack Sennett comedies. After
graduating from Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles (now
California Institute of the Arts) Jones drew pencil portraits for a
dollar a piece on Olvera Street. Then, in 1932, he got his first
job in the fledgling animation industry as a cel washer for former
Disney animator, Ub Iwerks. In 1936 Jones was hired by Friz Freleng
as an animator for the Leon Schlesinger Studio.

He directed his first film, The
Night Watchman, in 1937. He was a key part of Warner Bros.
animation studio from the 1940s until the studio closed in 1962 in
what all critics consider the Golden Age of Animation. He then
moved to MGM Studios and established his own production company,
Chuck Jones Enterprises, thrilling new generations of fans.

Director Peter Bogdanovich once explained the enduring appeal of
Jones's work: "It remains, like all good fables and only the best
art, both timeless and universal."